Exeter is ready to seize a ‘once in a generation’ opportunity to take control of its own destiny.

The city council has unanimously backed a plan for it to become a unitary authority as part of the government’s nationwide shake-up of local authorities and sent its proposals to ministers.

So far in Devon, Plymouth wants to go it alone, expanding to absorb more than a dozen parishes in the South Hams.

Torbay also wants to stay as a small unitary authority, as it is now, but concedes that it will also have to spread out to absorb other areas in order to meet the government’s target for the population of the new unitary councils.

Devon’s seven district councils, have signed up for a structure that sees Plymouth standing alone and all the rest of Devon split into two large, new authorities.

The districts’ plan includes Exeter, but the city is determined to stand on its own two feet instead, possibly extending its boundaries to bring in some neighbouring parishes. The government has indicated that it might be open to allowing some of the new councils to come in below its planned population threshold of 500,000. Exeter’s current population is just under 140,000.

Exeter’s chief executive Bindu Arjoon told a meeting of the full council that there is a ‘compelling case’ for a unitary authority based on the city.

Unlike Plymouth, which has already published a list of the 13 South Hams parishes it wants to absorb to help it reach the population target, Exeter has not drawn up a map. It says that if it needs to expand outwards, it wants to consult properly first.

Council leader Phil Bialyk (Lab, Exwick) said: “Exeter is a young city with a rapidly growing population. It is an economic powerhouse which is out-performing the UK average.”

He said a single Devon-wide authority would not work for Devon, and neither would the district councils’ ‘1-5-4’ proposal to split the county.

“That option has no logic,” he said. “It recognises that one of Devon’s cities – Plymouth – is deserving of unitary status, but Exeter is not.

“It is simply a political plan that does not address the needs of the people of Devon, and it must be rejected.”

He stressed that local town and parish councils should be included in discussions ahead of the formation of any new authority.

Cllr Zoe Hughes (Ind, Pennsylvania) added: “We deserve to stand on our own two feet, and not stand in line with a begging bowl waiting for our turn.” And Cllr Diana Moore (Green, St Davids) urged: “Let’s make the most of the government’s faith in us.

“Exeter is a generous and friendly city. I hope we can invite our neighbours to join us in shaping the city’s future in a meaningful way.”

But Cllr Michael Mitchell (Lib Dem, Duryard and St James) said the ‘elephant in the room’ was finance, and warned that the districts would be overwhelmed by the debts left behind by a disbanded Devon County Council.

“Without an overhaul of how councils are funded these changes and their associated costs are just going to establish new bankrupt unitary authorities from day one,” he said.

“This is not a decision to be imposed by the few on the many.”